Drone footage shows the ancient northern Iraqi site of Nimrud shows the extent of the damage it suffered at the hands of Islamic State group (IS / ISIS / ISIL / Daesh ) militants.

Leila Salah, head of the heritage building department at the Nineveh Antiquities Directorate, who had recently visited Nimrud, said on Saturday up to 70 percent of the site had been damaged but she added that because so much of the rubble had been left on the site it was possible to reconstruct it to what it looked like before but it would take years and cost millions of dollars; AP reported.

UNESCO, the United Nation's cultural agency, has already offered help, which will be used to put a fence around and guard the site as it is now completely unprotected. Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, is an ancient Assyrian city located 20 miles south of Mosul. It was a flourishing population centre until the 7th century BC.

A video posted online by IS ( ISIS / ISIL / Daesh ) last year showed the militants destroying elements of the site with bulldozers, explosives and sledgehammers. Iraqi forces retook the site in November.

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